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How do you feel living under a generation of the UNCRC?
Joel: I was one year old when the UK approved the UNCRC and have been involved in participation work from the age of eleven. I feel quite privileged living under a generation of the CRC. The main reason is Article 12 - the right to have a say in decisions that affect you. When I began this work at 11, I was surprised by how many people actually wanted to listen to me and take my views seriously.
How has the CRC changed your life?
Without it, I would not be the person that I am today. I have been involved with organisations such as the NSPCC, Children’s Rights Alliance for England and UNICEF UK, because they recognise that I am the best expert on my life.
The UNCRC means they want to listen to me and thus I have had the chance to get involved in a variety of campaigns, such as the UN Study on Violence Against Children with the NSPCC. It has given me the confidence to speak out against the injustices in our world today, particularly in regards to young people.
What do you think life would be like without the CRC?
There is no doubt that life would be very different. For example, in schools, where most young people spend a large proportion of their time, we would continue to have no say in decisions that affect us. It would continue to be quite oppressive and dictatorial. However the UNCRC means that the Government encourages schools to set up school councils and listen to their students.
The UNCRC forces people to recognise young people as vulnerable beings in need of extra protection, so the Government and other bodies take their responsibilities towards young people more seriously. The situation would definitely be very different for young people depending on where they lived in the world.
How do you use the CRC in your daily life?
I ensure that I use my right to have a say in decisions that affect me. I am on my school council and continue to campaign for our school to give the students a stronger voice and take us more seriously. Locally, I am involved in the Youth Parliament, taking part in the "Stop the Violence" campaign to make my borough a safer place to grow up in.
I am currently involved in challenging my local mayor’s decision to disband the Newham Youth Parliament (which allows any young person to have a say and properly participate) in favour of a ‘fully representative elected’ Newham Youth Council’, which is more selective and restricts the right of young people to affect decisions being made on their behalf. I believe this is not in the best interests of young people in my borough and am appalled by the lack of consultation when he was making his decision and starting this process.
What challenges still lie ahead for universal children’s rights?
I believe Article 12 is the convention’s greatest achievement; however it has by no means been fully achieved. Young people are still not being fully listened to in their schools, the hospitals and other places that provide them services. Having a school council for example is the first step, actually listening to the young people and giving their views due weight is a totally different ball game. Governments need to stop giving the choice and need to start making it an intrinsic part of their policies.
Moreover, how is every young person supposed to reach their potential if child poverty is still such an issue, not only in the rest of the world, but also here in the UK? Every country has a responsibility to the world’s children to give them the best possible start in life to achieve their potential. Universal education still doesn’t exist in the world and many young people in the world do not have access to basic healthcare. A lot of progress has been made but there still remains a distance to travel.
- Read more about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Know your rights: Familiarise yourself with all the different rights young people have.
- Read about Joel’s experience when he attended a discussion about the UNCRC.